Wout van Aert of Team Jumbo-Visma finished the fourth stage of the Tour de France in the top-10 on Tuesday after just missing stage wins on Sunday and Monday. In the hectic final phase on the Nogano circuit on Tuesday, the Belgian didn't manage to catch up with his teammates. This left him in a less-than-ideal position as he turned onto the long final straight and he had to settle for ninth place.
Very little happened on the way to the Nogano circuit. In the last 10 kilometers, however, the pace picked up considerably. Team Jumbo-Visma, with leader Jonas Vingegaard, stayed out of the frenzy thanks to its good position at the front of the peloton.
“We were in an ideal position with the whole team,” said Jumbo-Visma director Grischa Niermann. “Unfortunately, Wout just missed the connection. He lost the wheel of his teammates. Ultimately, he managed to move up a few places, but fighting for victory was no longer possible.”
“It was a day where very little happened,” Niermann continued. “The final, however, was quite hectic. Fortunately, we stayed out of trouble as a team. That is perhaps the most important thing on a day like this. As a team, we kept our leader Jonas in the safe zone. He turned onto the track second. That looked good. The following two days, we head into the Pyrenees. The team is riding well, and we are in good shape. We are ready for the battle that will undoubtedly flare up again in the next few days.”
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won Stage 4, after also winning Stage 3, as 105 cyclists finished together in the lead peloton on Tuesday.
Van Aert finished one spot ahead of Lidl-Trek’s top performer, Mads Pedersen in 10th.
Vingegaard finished 25th, just behind Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and one spot ahead of Mattias Skjelmose of Lidl-Trek as the top-six GC riders didn’t move. Pogacar is second, six seconds behind teammate Adam Yates. Van Aert is fifth, 16 seconds back, and Vingegaard is sixth, 17 seconds back. Skjelmose moved up one spot in the GC to ninth, 22 seconds back.
Durangoan Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) finished 62nd on Stage 4 in the same time as the winner. Kuss is currently 26th in the GC, 1:41 out of the lead.
Quinn Simmons of Durango (Lidl-Trek), meanwhile, finished 170th on the stage (+3:45) and moved to 153rd in the GC.
Philipsen also took the points lead away from Stage 2 winner, Victor Lafay (Cofidis) on Tuesday while Van Aert slipped three spots to sixth.
American Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) leads the King of the Mountain race with 18 points, 11 more than Pogacar in second. Pogacar, meanwhile, leads the youth category by 16 seconds over Skjelmose. Jumbo-Visma also has the fastest team time while Lidl-Trek is fifth out of the 22 squads.
After the back-to-back stage wins, Philipsen was still 75th in the GC (+18:43).
Van Aert just, meanwhile, missed out stage victories on both the second and third stages. On Stage 3, Van Aert finished fifth. He seemed to be on his way to a podium finish, but lost momentum in the final meters as he rode very close to the fences.
After the Jumbo-Visma riders had stayed out of trouble all day, Christophe Laporte helped Van Aert to a good position in the final kilometer. “Christophe's work was excellent,” Van Aert said. “As a result, I was positioned well. I tried to pass Philipsen on the right. Unfortunately, I lost top speed because Jasper and I touched each other and because I collided with the spectators on the side of the road.”
Vingegaard finished 43rd in Stage 3, but didn’t lose any time. Kuss placed 95th, also in the same time as the winner. Simmons finished 156th on the stage, 2:09 back, while Pedersen finished ninth to lead Lidl-Trek.
On Stage 2 on Sunday, Van Aert finished second, just behind Lafay.
The peloton maintained a high tempo as it climbed the Jaizkibel. Around 25 favorites descended toward San Sebastian, including Van Aert, Vingegaard, Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot. The announced sprint was disrupted by a last-ditch attack from Lafay in the final kilometer. The fast-approaching Van Aert fell narrowly short of catching back the Frenchman.
“It's a shame, of course,” Niermann said. “Everything went pretty well today. Tadej Pogacar took some bonification seconds, but we know he is strong. Today Jonas made a strong impression, and we had four Jumbo-Visma riders in the first group. It's just that Lafay's attack was outstanding. Congratulations to him, but we would have preferred to take the stage win with Wout. Obviously, he is disappointed, which is normal. He is in good form, so there are more chances for him to win a stage.”
Vingegaard also punctured a tire, on Stage 2 but was able to catch up with the peloton to stay in the GC hunt.
Kuss finished 30th on Stage 2, 58 seconds back, and he moved up three spots to 28th in the GC in the process. Simmons finished 123rd (+14:10) while Lidl-Trek leader Skjelmose finished 23rd and Giulio Ciccone placed 11th to lead the team.
